updated 09:15 am EST, Mon February 25, 2008

Adobe releases AIR, Flex 3

Adobe has released two new products intended for developing "rich" Internet applications. AIR allows programmers to create apps using web-based languages, including Ajax, HTML, Flash and Flex; the end result primarily runs in a web browser, but can also be geared to read and write local files, and work in tandem with locally-stored applications. AIR and its SDK are free downloads, and operate on Mac OS X 10.4.9 or later.

Flex 3 is the latest version of Adobe's open-source framework. Complementing it is Flex Builder 3, a development tool that now incorporates special support for AIR. Also included is integration with Creative Suite 3, meant to ease collaboration between designers and developers. Finally, new testing tools such as memory and performance profilers have been introduced. The Flex 3 SDK is free; Flex Builder 3 however costs $250 for the Standard edition, or $700 for Professional, which is the only version with the new profilers as well as functions like the Advanced Datagrid.